28 replies to this topic

[justcallme A S H]

Just about everything is XL friendly, why? Because once you learn to torso twist and spread damage you are good to go.

The only thing I don't have a XL in, Atlas/KGC. Everything else is, it has to be so you get the important "3" - Speed / Cooling / Firepower.

Marauder really is not XL friendly, just due to it's shape. It's one of the tankiest mechs in the game IMO, STD engine all the way. It just lacks firepower/cooling then. LFE will actually work well on the Marauder, unlike most IS mechs.

[Rogue Jedi]

dragonkid11, on 28 April 2017 - 04:23 PM, said:

I think ALL light mech is XL friendly because if you don't have XL, you will DIE really fast.

Also, Centurion is XL friendly? I thought its wide torso would make it die from XL faster?

Light Mechs tend to need a big engine but some of them can be a lot more durable with a standard, however as many experianced players tend to aim for the legs that is less of an issue.
Lights need an XL to pack in firepower with decent speed, not for suvivability.
whichever Mech you are bringing if you take an XL that will increase your chance of dieing early, ifI am saying a Mech is XL freindly that means it is ^{(with me piloting)} likely to loose the CT or both legs before it looses a side torso.

A few years ago I would have said take a standard in a Centurian, but its hitboxes changed quite a while ago to make it so it would no longer take more damage to put it down than it took to kill an Atlas, yes at one point the Centurian had such amazing hitboxes that literaly an Atlas would usualy go down faster if you were aiming for the center torso and both had a Standard engine. however that is no longer the case and there are several Centurian varients which I do run very sucessfully with an XL.

[Vlad Striker]

Centurion is mobile and quick torso twisting mech so it's XL friendly.

[Koniving]

justcallme A S H, on 28 April 2017 - 05:04 PM, said:

Just about everything is XL friendly, why? Because once you learn to torso twist and spread damage you are good to go.

And this is why twist is being decoupled from engine power, as many mechs cannot put a big engine in regardless of if it is standard or XL, there are some heavy mechs that can't even put in a 260 engine, forever screwing them from being able to twist and spread damage because it is so damn slow.

[Metus regem]

Koniving, on 29 April 2017 - 04:28 AM, said:

And this is why twist is being decoupled from engine power, as many mechs cannot put a big engine in regardless of if it is standard or XL, there are some heavy mechs that can't even put in a 260 engine, forever screwing them from being able to twist and spread damage because it is so damn slow.

To be fair, we should never have had the ability to swap engines in the first place....

[Koniving]

Metus regem, on 29 April 2017 - 05:28 AM, said:

To be fair, we should never have had the ability to swap engines in the first place....

While true, at the very least not to the extent which we can. Consider that some engines weigh the same because they are never meant to be equipped by a mech of that weight class, and min/maxing would be a lot harder with significantly fewer engine choices.

Then again, even with the freedom in BT, if Megamek is any indication as that dives into rules I haven't read yet.... an XL 300 engine for a 35 ton 'Mech, a 50 ton 'Mech, a 60 ton 'Mech, a 75 ton 'Mech and finally a 100 ton are not the same. For a 35 ton 'Mech the engine is hardly 3 million cbills. For a 100 ton 'Mech? The engine is over 12 million cbills.

<.<

That's just buying it.

They also seem to net vastly different wait times for delivery too. But I won't get into that here.

--------

Certain 35 ton mechs are better off without XL engines. These are the taller humanoid shaped ones. Yes, you can XL them. No, it often isn't a good idea, especially on the Panthers which can't hold big engines in the first place since their stock speeds are so slow.

An attempt to get back on topic^
(Btw Metus, a lot of new questions to ponder on the hypothetical thread, link in sig.)

[762 NATO]

XL survivability is all in your skill as a pilot to not get shot, shoot them harder first, and shield when getting shot. In that order, IMO. I have run xls in everything I have owned, including an Atlas on occasion (just to see how bad it was). It can be done, it only hurts if you screw up.

Cheers!

[Hindenhoot]

The other thing I'd add is that going with a standard engine isn't necessarily the end of the world.

The ability to add 4 or so double heat sinks in the engine means you can save tonnage elsewhere with endo/ferro and so on. Also giving you lots of slots in the STs to utilise the hardpoints there.

Myself, for IS mechs I only run XL engines in lights, where I can make up for the fragility with speed.

[Kubernetes]

justcallme A S H, on 28 April 2017 - 05:04 PM, said:

Just about everything is XL friendly, why? Because once you learn to torso twist and spread damage you are good to go.

The only thing I don't have a XL in, Atlas/KGC. Everything else is, it has to be so you get the important "3" - Speed / Cooling / Firepower.

Marauder really is not XL friendly, just due to it's shape. It's one of the tankiest mechs in the game IMO, STD engine all the way. It just lacks firepower/cooling then. LFE will actually work well on the Marauder, unlike most IS mechs.

I was with you right up until the Marauder comment. The Mad runs XL great, but you gotta nose into damage. A Std Mad is lacking in either speed or firepower, and that's a bad compromise IMO. The mech is already inherently tanky, so you gotta maximize its other qualities.